Jack
by Bluebell67
Summary: (Spoilers for 12x19- 12x23) Dean/Castiel set in an alternate universe without magic. Both Dean and Cas are single fathers who struggle and feel alone in the world, and they slowly fall for eachother.
1. Chapter 1

Dean licked his lips subconsciously as he stared at the pie in the case. Emma glared at him. "Stop licking your lips, then complaining that we can't buy it. I doubt it's safe to have a seventeen year old in charge of your budget in the first place, but if you lick your lips one more time, I'll buy it then eat it in front of you."

"I'm not doing it on purpose." Dean mumbled, looking down at his burger. He felt as if someone was watching him and looked up at the strange looking guy over at table three. "Emma, it's your friend and his dad."

"Which friend? Jack?" She asked, looking over. "Dad, Jack lives a few houses down from us. In that blue house."

"The house that never mows their lawn?"

"Shush, he's coming over." Emma pulled her reddish hair out of it's ponytail and messed it around. Dean noticed the worry that flashed in her deep brown eyes. She looked exactly like her mother and nothing like Dean. "Hey Jack."

"Hi." Jack said weakly. Jack's dad stood behind him. They had the same blue eyes, the same pinkish color under their eyes, and both had a morose look. Dean stood up, sticking his hand out. Jack's father stared at it.

"I'm Dean, Emma's dad." Dean said. "You're Jack's dad?"

"No." Jack's not father said. "I'm his uncle."

"Oh… what's your name?"

"Castiel." Castiel sighed. He pushed his hands further into his pockets, trying to make it more clear that he didn't shake hands.

"Castiel… that's… unique."

"Castiel is in the top 1000 baby names according to Nameberry. My friend, Kelly, discovered that." Castiel informed Dean. Dean sighed in relief. He had friends.

"Where is Kelly now?"

"Dead." Castiel said, and did not elaborate on further. Jack and Emma looked uncomfortable.

"I thought you were exaggerating." Emma whispered to Jack. He smirked. Dean didn't like that smirk.

"Uh… are you guys new?"

"No, we've lived here since 1983."

"Oh… that's funny." Dean said. "Back in 1983 I lived with my parents and brother in Lawrence. I was four."

"Okay, it's time for us to go." Emma said. "Bye Jack!"

"Bye!" Jack said back, then clearly mouthed something to Emma along the lines of 'awkward'. Dean frowned back at the family as they walked to the car.

"What happened to Jack's father?"

"Urgh." Emma said. "Do I have to tell you?"

"Please."

"Okay, from what Jack says, his dad was a bad guy who's in prison or something. His mom is out of the picture. That's all I know. He doesn't talk much."

Dean looked down, remembering things he put in the back of his head. Dean's mother had divorced his dad when he was four, then ran off to do secret things who knows where. His dad died in a car crash years ago, a drunk driving incident. Recently his mom showed up, looking for him and Sam. She's weird, outta place, and just generally loopy. Similar to the way Castiel seemed. Just… off.

"Maybe I should drive." Emma said quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean worked for nine hours at the Family Business Mechanic. By the end of the day, his hands were covered in oil, under his nails, everywhere. The end of his shift was nearing when a tan truck rolled in.

"What do you think is wrong?" Dean asked from the counter as he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up. Startling blue eyes, a fancy coat… the mysterious Uncle Castiel with the weird kid who didn't talk much.

"It has failed me. Can I get a new one here?" Castiel asked.

"Well, Cas, if it's that bad, you should go to a dealership." Dean said.

"Cas?"

"Shortened version of your name."

"How do you know my name?"

"I met you this morning. I'm Emma's dad."

"Who?" Castiel asked, tilting his head. "Oh… you."

"Yeah." Dean said. His memory might be bad, but it wasn't as bad as Castiel's. Or maybe he was so pompous and sheltered and his nose was too high in the air to see that Dean was a person. He pushed down all of the things he wanted to say and checked the car. "It stopped working because you have a flat tire."

"A… flat tire?"

"You need a new tire." Dean said. "What's this type?"

"Uh… truck?" Castiel asked. Dean sighed, putting his face in his hands. "Oh, don't do that. You'll get more… dirty."

Dean grabbed his coat, making him jump. Once again, Dean had always been a clean freak, but Castiel was ridiculous. How could someone not know anything about cars? "Oh, sorry, Cas. Why don't you tell me about yourself while I find a tire?"

"Okay." Castiel replied. "Uh… my father's name is Charles. He was a single father, an author and a musician. He was deemed unfit for taking care of my siblings and I, so we were sent to our aunt, who lives by Kane Lake, on the other side of the town."

"You have a lot of siblings?"

"Yes."

"One of your siblings is Jack's dad?"

"Yes."

"What happened to him? I'm just asking, because my daughter is friends with Jack…"

"He was arrested. My friend, Kelly was pregnant with Jack at the time and she discovered that she wasn't going to survive. She named me as his godfather and gave me custody. I've raised Jack here, his whole life."

"Oh… you don't get out much, do you?"

"No."

"What do you do? For work, I mean?"

"I'm a Professor at Lebanon University."

"Oh! My brother went to Stanford, but I've heard about it. What do you teach?"

"Generally I teach history and religion/myth studies." Castiel said. Dean smiled, feeling less nervous around the weird guy.

"Would you and Jack like to come over for dinner tonight? I'm making burgers." Dean said, finally finishing the wheel and walking to the front desk.

"Uh… alright. Sure. Yes. Great."

"Awesome." Dean smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hi." Jack said when Dean answered the door. Emma had messed up her hair again, and added a black leather jacket. Cas sat down as Dean served the food.

"Dad, can we go into the other room?"

"Yeah, just make sure you don't get food on the carpet." Dean said. Emma and Jack took their plates and vanished into the TV room.

"So, Dean…" Castiel said awkwardly. "Uh… tell me more about you. You said you grew up in Lawrence?"

"Yup. Just a few miles away."

"And you have a brother who went to Stanford?"

"Yeah. He's a lawyer over in California. He's married too."

"Parents?"

"Uh… my dad died in a drunk driving incident. My parents had been split, and my mom was missing, so my brother and I were orphans for a while, but she just came back."

"That's odd." Castiel said. Dean laughed lightly.

"Yeah, yeah it is."

"What happened to Emma's mother?"

"We're divorced. I had an alcoholism problem, but I've been sober for a while. I've actually been married twice, and I have two kids. Ben is in college in Illinois, and obviously Emma is seventeen."

"You lied." Castiel frowned.

"Huh?"

"Being sober- that's for Emma's sake, isn't it? You're not actually sober, you just claim to be. You're still an alcoholic. I'm sorry to tell you, but Emma knows." Castiel said sharply. Dean felt his confidence vanish. He wanted to disappear. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine." Dean sighed. They sat in silence. Castiel stared at him, his piercing blue eyes reading Dean's face like a book.

"I've had problems with addiction also. A different type, but it still hurt me and my family." Castiel said. "After Kelly died, I had no one. My aunt and siblings vanished, my brother in jail, my father drunk in an alley somewhere. I thought it was my fault, so I turned to self harm. Jack… he stopped me. He showed me that the world is worth it, and that I shouldn't be afraid anymore. Everything that happened in my life was up to them, not me. And the only thing I can do now is raise my son."

"He's going to college in the fall." Dean said.

"I'll miss him, but now I know I can survive." Castiel said.

"Would you like to meet again?"

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

They met many times, alone. The latest one, when Jack was over at a friend's house, was the last time they met as friends. Emma had gone to sleep early for a test, so she had no idea Dean wasn't there. Castiel's house was big, fancy, and lonely. He said that he had inherited it from his father. They ate dinner together, and finally something happened. Dean was saying goodbye, about to leave, when Castiel kissed him.

Dean stood, frozen in the doorway, his hand on the knob. "Cas… I think you got the wrong idea." He said. "I'm not…" But Dean couldn't turn that knob. He wasn't going to leave anytime soon. He turned around, kissing Cas.

"We should discuss this." Castiel said.

"I don't have any STIs." Dean said. "And I do have protection just in case."

"No, I meant how this will affect our children." Castiel said.

"Oh." Dean whispered, pausing. "I didn't think about that. I didn't think about anything. This literally just happened seconds ago. We'll figure it out later."

"Okay." Castiel said. Dean pulled his coat off. They ran to Cas's bedroom, which had a four poster king bed, and Dean laid down on his back. Cas pulled off the rest of their clothing and felt Dean's warm skin against his own. They rolled over in the bed, tossing and turning through the night. Dean felt, for the first time ever, truly blissful.

He knew he had messed up when he woke up to the sunlight streaming into the room. He nudged Cas, who looked at the clock, which read '11'. "Oh God."

Dean couldn't find his clothes from the night before so he grabbed things from Cas's drawer. Cas rushed down the stairs to his car, and Dean jumped in his. Cas was supposed to pick up Jack a hour ago, and Dean was late for work.

Castiel rushed to Jesse's house. "Hi, , I'm so sorry, I've come to pick up Jack."

"You're Jack's dad?" Mrs. Turner asked.

"No, I'm his uncle."

"Oh, then he left with his dad an hour ago."

"His dad?" Castiel felt his heart beat go three times faster than usual.

"Yeah, his dad. What's-"

"I have to find him."


	5. Chapter 5

Dean's phone buzzed loudly. He glanced over at it. 'Amber Alert: Missing child; Jack Shurley/ Male, 17, blue eyes, brown-blond hair, kidnapper/suspect is Luke Shurley /Male, 52, blue eyes, blond hair. Luke Shurley owns a 2015 purple Prius C. Jack was last seen at 2541 Australia Ave, Lebanon KA.'

Dean felt his heart stop. Cas's kid.

He quickly went through his messages. There was one from Emma around 10.

'Got weird txt from Jack + have free period, so going 2 check it out' the text read. Dean stared at it, his heart sinking further. He has a missed call from the school… Emma wasn't there.

"Emma, text me back now. Are you okay?" Dean whispered, typing. His phone buzzed, a new message from Emma appearing.

'Gas-n-Sip Hwy 7' it read. Dean called the hotline, his fingers shaking. "Hi, I have information on the missing kid, Jack. I believe my daughter, Emma Winchester, is with him. She just sent me a text that said 'Gas-n-Sip Hwy 7'."

"Okay, sir. We are sending officers to her location. Just stay where you are and stay-"

"I'll be there." Dean said, hanging up the phone. He got into his car, twisting the key and racing onto the road. He dialed in a new number, glancing down. "Cas!"

"Dean?!"

"Cas, Emma is with Jack. They're at the Gas-n-Sip on highway 7. She texted me."

"I'm on my way." Castiel said, his voice grave over the phone. He hung up. Dean flew into the parking lot, pushing the door open, running. He glanced around the door, looking for a glimpse of Emma. She wasn't there.

"Sir, are you okay?"

"An adult and two teenagers- they were here?"

"A few minutes ago." The clerk said. "They're gone."

"Gone?" Dean asked. He saw the phone on the floor, it's screen cracked. He picked it up, his hand shaking. An unsent text… 'Dd' was still on the screen. It was Emma's phone. Dean ran back out to his car, leaving her phone. He pulled out, stepping on the gas. He knew exactly where he was going. It only made sense. He pulled out his phone, the car swerving. He typed in the letters as fast as he could.

'Diana's Diner'- Dean sent the text. He threw his phone into the passenger seat, picking up speed. He didn't wait, he just got out of the car, running to the diner. Emma looked up at him from a booth, her clever eyes giving him a signal- wait. Dean could see the back of Jack's head, and he saw the back of the person he believed to be Luke. Dean sent another text to the police- Luke spotted Diana's Diner. Dean sat down by the door, never looking away from Emma. She smiled nervously, her eyes pink from hold back tears.

"'Dean. Usual?" The waitress asked.

"No."

"I know." She said. "Funny seeing Emma here."

"Yeah."

"That guy looks an awful lot like Luke Shurley. I didn't call the authorities."

"Okay." Dean said, nodding. It was obvious what she was saying. She knew what was happening, and with both her call and Dean's text, they should be there soon. Castiel ran in, spotting Dean sitting, but it was too late. Luke turned around and saw him.

"Cas."

"Luke, let them go." Castiel said angrily. He pushed a chair out of his way and stormed toward the booth. Luke stood up, taller than Cas.

"That's my son." Luke said. "Not yours."

Cas reached out to grab Jack's arm, but Luke caught him and twisted it. Cas's arm made a sickening crack. Jack winced as Emma made a run for the door. She made it, slamming the glass behind her, running to Dean's car. The door was wide open, and his phone was in the passenger seat.

"Well, that's our cue to exit." Luke said, pulling Jack out of the seat. He walked past Cas. Dean stepped in front of him at the door. "Well, just the regular hero, aren't you?"


End file.
